Prefer addressing problems right away rather than letting them linger. Often, problems can be quickly fixed when first encountered. As they linger, the consequences often become much more severe and more difficult to fix.
- Fixing a small leak when it is noticed is better than fixing a serious leak, structural damage, or long-term mold exposure.
- Technical problems left to linger can become “load bearing”, meaning that other parts of the system depend on the erroneous behavior.
- Not making the phone call to address the fact you need more time to pay a bill can result in fees or repossession.
Letting problems linger has a momentum of its own. If you’ve neglected a problem for a while, you’re more likely to keep neglecting it rather than fix it.
Ignoring problems rarely makes them go away. Significant problems never vanish, but become worse with continued neglect. The cost of inaction may be delayed, but it will inevitably come.
Related Ideas
- Good leaders take meaningful action to solve problems
References
- Empty Words, Empty Gestures, Empty Actions by Quintus Curtius
The failure to solve problems inevitably means they will aggregate to dangerous dimensions. According to the historian Will Durant, we see this in the perilous situation that confronted Greece around the time of the death of Plato in 347 B.C. Greed and selfishness rose to perilous heights. A fanatic chasing after money and riches (called by the Greeks pleonexia) became a feature of public life. The rich upper classes (the neoplutoi) occupied their time with frivolities and extravagance; and some of these oligarchs took oaths never to share their riches with the public. Durant quotes Isocrates as saying in 366 B.C.: “The rich have become so unsocial that those who own property had rather throw their possessions into the sea than lend aid to the needy, while those who are in poorer circumstances would less gladly find a treasure than seize the possessions of the rich.”
Greece was severely weakened by this economic strife and political paralysis. Nothing could be accomplished; squabbling and bickering became the key features of public life; and the energies of the public were divided between the struggle for survival and diversionary entertainments. The end result was that Athens was unable to coordinate a coherent defense when its militaristic neighbor to the north, Macedonia, came knocking at its door. Philip of Macedon conquered Greece in 338 B.C., and brought an end to Athenian freedom.
The cost of inaction may be delayed, but it must always be paid. Those who wish for pretty words, for dog and pony shows, and for form over substance, will learn their mistake in time. There is no way to escape the consequences of moral corruption.
- 3-2-1: Paying Attention, Staying Hopeful in Bad Times, and Ten Year Plans by James Clear
Many problems are minor when you solve them right away, but grow into an enormous conflict when you let them linger.
As a rule of thumb, fix it now.